Expert reveals why ‘Hasm’ militia is called that way

Cairo – Dr. Tharwat Al-Kharbawi, an expert on Islamist Movements, said that “Hasm” militia is closely linked to Muslim Brotherhood group as its armed wing.  He revealed that the militia has been named after its sister terrorist group “Hamas,” as both are derived from the same root.

Hasm, meaning ‘decisiveness or resolve’ in Arabic, (Arabic:‎‎ ‎‎ Ḥaraka Sā‘ad Maṣr or Arms of Egypt Movement) is an active Islamist militant group operating in Egypt.

During an interview with the program “On My Responsibility,” aired on Sada Elbalad satellite channel and presented by media anchor Ahmed MAl-Kharbawi disclosed that the militia commander Mohammed Kamal, who was killed in fire clashes with Egyptian police forces in 2016, was the actual leader of the clandestine armed wing. Kamal was the first member to clamor for reviving and resuming the activities of the group’s armed wing once again.

Mohammed Kamal, 61, a member of the group’s top leadership council, was killed when security forces raided an apartment in Cairo’s southern Bassateen district. On October 4, 2016, the interior ministry said it had raided an apartment in Cairo after learning that it was being used as a Brotherhood base and was met by gunfire from inside. It said its forces fired back, killing the two men inside, news agencies reported then.

Al-Kharbawi added that Hasm claimed responsibility for targeting and smashing electricity towers across Egypt so as to spread chaos and turmoil in society and undermine national security. The militia also claimed responsibility for the multiple assassination attempts on the lives of several police officers and public figure, stressing that terrorist Omar Swailm was the main commanders of the assassination attempts after the death of Mohammed Kamal.